ArtsJournal (text by date)

AJ Four Ways:
 Text Only (by date)headlines only

  • Associate Vice President of Advancement Operations

    San Francisco Conservatory of Music

    The Associate Vice President of Advancement Operations (AVP) reports to the Vice President of Advancement (VP) and serves as a member of the Advancement leadership team. The AVP is responsible for leading administrative and financial operations, database use and management, data integrity, software use and management, and development of procedures, protocols, and processes. This position requires a strong commitment to SFCM, unquestioned integrity, a keen sense of confidentiality, exemplary written and oral communication skills, a high level of professionalism, demonstrated skills in effectively managing challenging situations, extraordinary attention to detail, diplomacy, exceptional knowledge of the SFCM’s policies and procedures, and excellent judgment.

    Duties and Responsibilities

    The successful candidate will bring authentic and passionate leadership and direction to a team in the Advancement department. In tandem with the VP, they will be responsible for supervising all aspects of advancement operations, including advancement services, data entry, data management, data integrity, database management, and protocols/procedures related to data (CEM, CRM, etc.) for the Advancement department.

    • Provides strategic leadership in the department’s work to create and manage effective fundraising and stewardship by administering the Raiser’s Edge NXT fundraising database system (RE NXT), ensuring optimal use, maintenance and functionality, an essential element to institutional credibility, potential income and donor relationships.
    • Leads, manages, and provides strategic direction to the stewardship operations for SFCM, including gift receipts and acknowledgement, communications, and stewardship events.
    • Supervises two full-time positions: Data and Operations Coordinator and Donor Relations and Stewardship Coordinator. Creates clear expectations, builds a culture of competence and confidence, provides guidance, and leads and manages the team in Advancement Operations.
    • In tandem with the Advancement Operations team, and in consultation with other colleagues as needed, develops and maintains standard operating procedures for RE NXT; recommends improvements and streamlined processes; implements and enforces procedures, policies and training that ensure the privacy and security of electronic and physical records maintained by the division.
    • Develops business processes for anticipating and meeting constituents’ needs. Ensures that all team members have a solid understanding of fundraising and stewardship programs, strategies and information systems, and are responsible for the integrity of the database and compliant with sound financial and advancement management policies (including IRS, CASE, and FASB) and practices.
    • Ensures that data and list requests and reporting needs for Advancement and campus partners are met with timely and accurate provision of information. Assures integrity in all areas of gift accounting and biographical donor/prospect information.
    • Monitors the integrity of the information contained in the database and determines how to translate data into usable, actionable information for the formation and execution of fundraising and stewardship strategies and measures of success.
    • Responsible for overseeing three key knowledge management functions in support of the Conservatory’s fundraising goals: business requirements development and documentation, business information management and analysis, and fundraising systems support.
    • Uses effective communication skills to establish and communicate the business requirements and facilitates a common understanding across the whole organization in order to optimize the systems used by Advancement.
    • Works collaboratively with the Advancement leadership team to create and implement the annual Advancement Plan.
    • In tandem with the VP and other members of the Advancement management team, assists with the process to forecast, prepare, and implement divisional budget. Provide financial and fiscal support for department budgets, technology budgets and other needed fiscal analysis ensuring compliance with the Conservatory, state, and federal laws, policies, and procedures. Ensure compliance with federal and state laws, Donor Bill of Rights, AFP and CASE, and other industry guidelines.
    • Manages administrative inquiries, audits, and requests related to data in Advancement. Ensures a seamless process for reconciliation of gifts with the Finance and Administration department.
    • Creates and implements a robust system for timely and accurate recording and reporting of all gifts (cash, in-kind, credit card, stocks, bequests, etc.) and pledges that allows for timely and efficient thank you letters, information sharing with Advancement colleagues, and other internal/external constituents.
    • Manages Advancement benchmarks and prepares regular comparison and progress reports including managing the Voluntary Support of Education and annual updates.
    • Leads special projects at the request of the VP, which may include campus research, analysis, and/or planning. Coordinate collaborative efforts campus-wide, disseminating information, coordinating efforts across the division and with constituents.
    • Performs other duties as assigned.

    The successful candidate should have:

    • A bachelor’s degree from a four-year regionally accredited institution, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
    • At least five years of progressively responsible advancement operations experience, preferably in a higher education setting.
    • Experience with budgets and team leadership.
    • Strong experience with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge and digital fluency with Microsoft software suite, Google suite, internet applications, etc.
    • Experience and understanding of Federal state, institutional, and donor funds.
    • Knowledge of shared governance, institutional administration and collegial interaction within a collegiate environment.
    • A passion and talent for building and maintaining authentic relationships using superior oral, written communication, and interpersonal skills.
    • An ability to keep matters confidential and to demonstrate honesty, loyalty, and respect.
    • A strong and demonstrable skill set in efficiently planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing multiple projects and activities with various deadlines simultaneously.
    • The mindset of a strategic and innovative thinker who is curious, creative, and resourceful.
    • The ability to lead and motivate others, while working in a consultative, diverse, inclusive, and ever-changing environment.
    • Knowledge of principles of institutional planning and budget processes.
    • Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, coordinate and direct multiple projects and activities with varied deadlines.
    • Ability to be a strategic and innovative thinker and effective in moving projects/assignments along.
    • A self-starter with strong organizational abilities, integrity, and confidence.
    • A team player with the ability to work in a cooperative/dynamic environment (e.g., with administrators, staff, faculty, and students) and external community (e.g., with business leaders, donors, and volunteers).
    • Ability to motivate others without line authority.
    • Ability to track and coordinate highly detailed projects in a well-organized and efficient manner.
    • Works effectively in a highly consultative and diverse environment.

    How to Apply

    • We prefer to receive applications through our website. This position will be open until filled.

    About Us

    SFCM’s mission is to transform our students: artistically, intellectually, professionally and individually. Through the study of music at the highest level, our students learn to seek achievement in every endeavor, to convert challenges into opportunities, to understand the nature of excellence, and to pursue their dreams with vigor and determination. We believe that inspiring the imagination, cultivating the artist, honing the intellect, and developing the professional are the keys to launching innovative graduates who excel in any field. SFCM is located in the heart of one of the world’s most innovative and diverse cities, and is home to a vibrant academic community of students and faculty who achieve excellence in their fields.

    Equal Opportunity Employer

    SFCM is a fully committed equal employment opportunity institution and welcomes applications from all qualified persons, including those who consider themselves to be of a race, national origin or ancestry that is not fully represented in musical arts programs in the United States. Personnel decisions regarding applicants for employment are made without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), status as a Vietnam-era veteran or special disabled veteran, age, citizenship, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.

    Apply Here: https://www.click2apply.net/gAopGYCpb71OOH8rjFlEXp

    PI238701461

  • Executive Director, Institute for Contemporary Art

    Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University
    Executive Director

    Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU School of the Arts (VCUarts) invite nominations and applications for the position of Executive Director of the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA).

    The ICA has become a focal point of Richmond’s energetic arts district, serving as a nexus for creativity and inclusion, where innovative thinking and transformational ideas are drawn from a spectrum of disciplines. In a striking building designed by Stephen Holl, the ICA is positioned minutes away from the highly regarded Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, with easy access to museums, galleries, and institutions up and down the East Coast. Unlike museums that house permanent collections, the ICA’s responsive exhibitions and performances invite audience engagement and challenge visitors to experience and examine art in unexpected ways.

    The ICA seeks a visionary leader who will provide the creative vision, leadership and strategic direction to further shape its role as an outstanding arts institution and part of the highly-ranked VCUarts. The executive director will be a convener of extraordinary ideas and a curious, inspiring, innovative, entrepreneurial, and experienced collaborator who brings to the role a record of achievement reflective of the ICA’s standards of excellence.

    Reporting directly to the Dean of VCUarts, who also serves as the Special Assistant to the Provost for VCUarts Qatar, the executive director has a secondary reporting relationship to the University Provost. This position is an Executive and Senior Leader Staff position; however, candidates may be eligible for a term (non-tenure eligible) faculty appointment depending upon their qualifications and experience. The executive director could teach in a discipline that aligns with their area of expertise. Within the context of VCUarts’ mission, the executive director will leverage the ICA’s unique positioning in an arts and design school, within an R1 research university, at the intersection of Richmond’s rich and diverse community.

    The successful candidate will hold a terminal degree in a relevant discipline and will have proven experience in administration and a strong track record in fundraising, development and budgeting, supplementing their capacity for driving dynamic, innovative and experimental programing. This individual will closely collaborate with the faculty, key volunteer leaders, staff, students, and community to incorporate the ICA into VCUarts’ strategic plan that aligns with the university’s strategic plan, Quest 2028: One VCU Together We Transform.

    Additional Information can be found here: https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/20844-vcu-executive-director-institute-for-contemporary-art

    Minimum starting salary of $200,000 is expected. Final salary based on credentials and experience of the hire.

    For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications (including letter of interest, diversity statement, CV, and references) by May 3, 2024 to:

    Susan VanGilder, Global Managing Partner and Practice Leader
    Susan Kart, Senior Search Associate
    Lareese Hall, Senior Search Associate
    VCUICA2024@storbecksearch.com

    For more information, please visit the ICA home page at https://icavcu.org/

    Virginia Commonwealth University does not discriminate in admissions, treatment, employment or access to its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin (including ethnicity), age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), parenting status, marital status, political affiliation, military status (including veteran status), genetic information (including family medical history), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or disability, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008; the Virginia Human Rights Act; the Virginia Personnel Act; and other state or federal laws and university policies. VCU prohibits sexual harassment and sex-based misconduct, including sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence. VCU also prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants for employment because they have inquired about, discussed or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

    MORE

  • Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance

    University of California San Diego

    Position overview

    Position title: Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance
    Salary range: A reasonable salary range estimate for this position is $88,600-$111,200.
    The posted UC Academic salary scales set the minimum pay as determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See the following table for the salary scale for this position here: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2023-24/oct-2023-acad-salary-scales/t1-l.pdf. Please refer to the 10/1/2023 salary scale for Lecturer with Potential for Security of Employment. The base salary range, from the salary table, for this position is $74,600-$97,200.

    “Off-scale salaries” and other components of pay, i.e., a salary that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions, qualifications, and experience. Additional UCSD salary information can be found here: https://aps.ucsd.edu/compensation/apo-salary.html

    Application Window

    Open date: March 26, 2024

    Next review date: Thursday, Apr 25, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
    Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

    Final date: Wednesday, Mar 26, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
    Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

    Position description

    The Department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego (http://theatre.ucsd.edu), located on the unceded territory of the Kumeyaay nation invites active and forward-thinking dance artists, choreographers, and dance scholar-practitioners with demonstrated expertise in African and African Diasporic forms. This position is a full-time, tenure-track faculty position within the Teaching Professor Series. The academic appointment for this position will be for a LPSOE in the area of Dance. An LPSOE (Lecturer with Potential for Security of Employment) is equivalent in level to Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance, effective July 1, 2024 and instruction beginning September 2024 (Fall Quarter).

    The Department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego invites exceptional dance educators and dance makers who emphasize interdisciplinary methodologies and whose research is rooted in African and Afro-Diasporic experiences and practices that are varyingly multiracial, trans-geographic and intersectional. The ideal candidate is an educator, dance maker and/or scholar-practitioner with an emphasis on dance pedagogy, who is cutting-edge in the profession, a risk-taker and a fearless collaborator. Candidates should have a clearly established, unique artistic vision, identity, voice, and praxis in relation to African and Afro-Diasporic experiences and should be ready and excited to develop educational programs in the Dance area through this lens. We welcome applicants whose practice might engage with areas of research such as: the hybridization and fusion of culturally, geographically, and historically diverse dance forms; somatic approaches (i.e., dance training, movement research, improvisation, performance, choreography, somatic practices and other forms with significant connection to the cultural production of Africa and its Diaspora); 21st-century interdisciplinary performance and aesthetics as they intersect with critical theory, social justice, and cultural, ethnic, religious and gender studies. We invite candidates whose research and teaching in dance would complement and amplify other areas of our department such as acting, directing, and design.

    Faculty hired will be expected to design and teach undergraduate dance courses in the T&D Department that support and collaborate with the vision of the department curriculum, and will be expected to mentor dance students in the T&D Department. We especially welcome candidates whose professional experience, community engagement, and personal background have facilitated their understanding of and ability to better serve students from traditionally underrepresented communities in higher education. Additionally, the appointee will be expected to participate as a member of the campus community on committees at both departmental and university levels.

    Position includes an expectation to participate in all facets of the undergraduate dance program. Duties include teaching, recruitment, casting, curriculum, periodic directing of department productions, university service, and a desire to invest in continuing to build and grow within the dance area.

    Qualifications

    Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

    • Applicants should possess an MFA/MA or 3-5 years of professional experience and/or relevant training.
    • Applicants should demonstrate expertise and experience in African and African Diasporic dance forms.
    • Applicants should demonstrate 1 to 3 years of evidence of teaching effectiveness and mentorship, preferably in a higher education setting but will consider other comparable settings such as: artist residencies, seminars, creative workshops, and participatory performances. Examples of teaching effectiveness and mentorship include but are not limited to: positive teaching/mentoring evaluations, student support letters, peer/professional reviews, and applicable awards/honors/nominations.

    Application Requirements

    Document requirements

    • Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V.
    • Cover Letter
    • Statement of Research (Optional)
    • Statement of Teaching
    • Statement of Contributions to Diversity – Applicants should summarize their past or potential contributions to diversity. See our /shortcuts/contributions_to_diversity site for more information.
    • Misc / Additional (Optional)

    Reference requirements

    • 2-3 letters of reference required

    Please provide the contact information for 3 references and upload at least 2 letters of reference.

    Apply link: https://apptrkr.com/5136720
    Help contact: m1craig@ucsd.edu

    About UC San Diego

    The University of California, San Diego is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, covered veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.

    As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

    The University of California prohibits https://smokefree.ucsd.edu/ use at all University controlled properties.

    The UC San Diego Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available online at: https://www.police.ucsd.edu/docs/annualclery.pdf. This report provides crime and fire statistics, as well as institutional policy statement & procedures. Contact the UC San Diego Police Department at (858) 534-4361 if you want to obtain paper copies of this report.

    Job location

    La Jolla, CA

    To apply, please visit: https://apptrkr.com/5136720

    Copyright ©2022 Jobelephant.com Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Kennicott: The Baltimore Bridge And Its Symbolism

    The loss of the bridge is first a human tragedy. Then it is an economic shock, with a radiating toll that won’t be fully understood for years. But it’s also a powerful symbolic shock, given the metaphorical power of bridges as a form of connection. – Washington Post (MSN)

  • Can There Truly Be “New” Opera Without Saying Goodbye To The Old?

    In short: There can be no history of operatic modernity that is not also a memorial, no production of new opera that does not account for generic death, no opera written that does not, in its own way, undertake the work of mourning. – Van

  • How The Hulu Merger Is Changing The Ways Disney Works

    Yes, Hulu is just a tile. But that tile also seems to represent something bigger inside of Disney: the full Disney Plus-ification of everything, as the tech and strategy it built over the last few years percolates out to everything else Disney does. – The Verge

  • For Centuries The Dutch Have Fought Back The Water. In Climate Change Maybe Cities Float Above The Water?

     “I think some bowls should be full,” he said, suggesting that flooding the land would amount to little more than a natural evolution of a man-made system, not unlike the way skyscrapers transformed cities a century ago. “It’s just an update to the machine.” – The New Yorker

  • It’s Been 35 Years Since The Pacific Symphony Last Picked A Music Director. The World Has Changed

    Carl St.Clair is currently the longest-serving music director of a major American orchestra, and under his baton the ensemble has flourished: It’s now the largest U.S. orchestra founded in the last 50 years. – CultureOC

  • Standup Comedy Flourished In China During Lockdown. Now The Government Crackdown

    Flippant references to China’s military, like those to top leaders, are considered off limits in official life, and such taboos have been codified under Xi, with a new criminal code outlawing the slander of political “heroes and martyrs.” – The New Yorker

  • What’s The Secret To The Songs That Make People Want To Dance? Syncopation, Says New Study

    But not too much — just “a moderate level of syncopation to the point where our brain can still extract the periodic beat from the melodies. (These researchers) contend that the brain is essentially trying to anticipate upcoming beats amid a melody’s syncopation. The result is the impulse to dance.” – Scientific American

  • Christopher Knight: Questions About The Broad Museum Expansion

    The conceit of a vanity museum’s design being dubbed “the veil and the vault,” with a perforated exterior draped over a treasury for a private collection being made public, was always more pretentious than meaningful. It’s good to see it go. – Los Angeles Times

  • LA’s Broad Museum Announces Major Expansion

    The Broad on Wednesday announced a $100-million building expansion that will increase gallery space at one of Los Angeles’ most popular museums by 70%. The sweeping plans could provide a critical boost to downtown L.A. – Los Angeles Times

  • Florida’s New Budget Increases Arts & Culture Funding By Over 60%. However, …

    “Allocations for fiscal year 2025 total $93.9 million, funding 669 different arts and culture projects or organizations. Just $32 million of that is allocated for grants overseen by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs, while the rest is earmarked for what are known as member projects.” – Sarasota Herald-Tribune

  • Toymakers Design Human Characteristics Into Their Work. And AI?

    Large language models can seem to do more than what we ask them to; they exhibit something that we might call creativity if a human did it. What is actually happening in these moments? – The New Yorker

  • Māori Postmodern: Indigenous Architects In New Zealand Are Creating A New Style of Design

    “The country’s Māori population now numbers 17% and rising, and the new generation’s enthusiastic embrace of tribal cultural identity is making their presence more visible than ever, … (with) a new wave of Māori architects keen to make their mark. … Māori design principles have even been written into urban planning policy.” – The Guardian

  • London’s Wigmore Hall Announces Endowment Campaign To Eliminate Its Public Funding

    The venue has an annual grant of £344,206 from Arts Council England (ACE) but John Gilhooly, Wigmore Hall’s artistic and executive director, says that it is “already 97% self-funded”. – The Guardian

  • “Merrily We Roll Along” And The Nature(s) Of Long-Term Friendship

    “Frank’s and Charley’s very different definitions of what constitutes a friend offers an astringent alternative to our culture’s sometimes treacly, overly simplistic portrayal of the bond. Even more than Broadway, Hollywood has fetishized friendship to (a fault).” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)

  • “Mama Mia” Star Informed She’s Being Replaced By AI Voice

    Musical theater star Sara Poyzer publicly shared a screenshot of an email she received from an unnamed production company which read: “Sorry for the delay—we have had the approval from BBC to use the AI generated voice so we wont need Sara anymore.” – The Daily Beast

  • What Kind of Room Do I Want to Lead? with Ellenore Scott

    How amazing to return to the podcast, and to Arts Journal, this week after a Sunday in the Park with George-related hiatus, by interviewing someone who is, in my opinion, part of the next generation of great Broadway storytellers, the kind that we will be talking about in twenty-thirty years saying “remember when I saw her first show,” the talented and lovely: Ellenore Scott.

    Ellenore was candid with me about her childhood, her adolescence in the concert dance world, her time on So You Think You Can Dance, her transition into musical theatre, and even the period of transition she’s currently experiencing: co-directing a new rock musical, The Lonely Few, alongside Tripp Cullman at MCC this spring. To that end, she describes a childhood that was filled with art: saxophone, karate, and, eventually, dance. She discusses how she came to dance at an age (ten) that some would describe as “late” [for a dancer], but how she feels her background playing saxophone and being “obsessed with jazz” gave her a sense of musicality, and her experience with karate and tae kwon do imbued her with a sense of her body and physicality. She describes her and her family’s decision to move, at only fourteen, from California to New York so she could attend LaGuardia high school and be on fellowship at Alvin Ailey, as well as her decision, then, to skip college and begin auditioning directly for concert dance companies. She describes, in acute detail her painful experience auditioning in the concert dance world that year: how she would get surprisingly far into the audition process and the deciding factor would come down to either her age (“too young”), her experience (“not enough”), or her “body shape.” When I ask her if this was something that was actually communicated to her or merely a very clear subtext, Ellenore tells me that people in these dance companies would say things like “we will consider you if you lose 15 pounds.” I’d like to take a moment to note, here, that almost every single dancer I’ve had on the show over the years — male or female, classical ballerina or otherwise, has some sort of story related to the dance world’s perception of their body and what it should or shouldn’t be like or look like. As Ellenore and I acknowledge on the show, this kind of stigma (and I’d argue workplace harassment) is definitely getting better within the dance community (a great NY Times article written about a core group of NYCB dancers comes to mind), it obviously took its toll on a seventeen-year-old Ellenore. So much so, she tells me, that she was thinking of quitting and going to culinary school. Instead: she saw auditions for a new season of So You Think You Can Dance being advertised on TV.

    Ellenore performing, alongside Ryan Di Lello, on Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. Photo courtesy of Fox.

    When Ellenore talks about SYTYCD for the podcast, her face literally lights up. “[Dancing on SYTYCD gave me an opportunity to be] myself, and [the audience] liked it,” she tells me. “It really opened my eyes because I realized that I had a personality that people were engaged with and I was able to succeed on the show because I connected with people. And it re focused what dancing was for me. And I think a lot of the time with the company work, it was this, like, ‘How big are you? What is your technique? Your turnout’s not good enough.’ Whereas…when I was performing on television, it was like, ‘How are you interacting with the audience? What are they taking away from it? Is it accessible to them?’”

    I can’t think of a better training ground for theatrical storytelling. Ellenore tells me that she’s actually in the minority for Broadway choreographers because she was never a Broadway dancer herself. After doing SYTYCD — where she was known as the “lockarina,” for her classical ballet training as well as her ability to “pop and lock,” a theme to which we’ll return in this article — she did some pre-production work for the TV show Smash (my true fans know that show is sacrosanct for me). “I remember going…’I love this movement,’” Ellenore says. “I know it’s a television show, but it’s about theatre. I love theatre.’ And I think…all the points started connecting…because I was like, I love Broadway. I’m learning how important the performing part of the performing arts is to me, and the connection to the audience, and the storytelling. What if theatre is that for me? What if I’m able to use the technique and the skills that I had from my concert dance background, and couple it with the experiences that I’ve had as…a commercial dancer and doing television…Is theatre the way that I can make a hybrid of those two things and use my unique skills?”

    Ellenore became known as the “lockarina” on SYTYCD. Photo by Jayme Thornton, courtesy of Dance Magazine.

    Clearly it was. Since that first round of Smash pre-production, Ellenore has gone on to choreograph for Mr. Saturday Night, Grey House, and Funny Girl on Broadway, for Little Shop of Horrors, Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice, Jeremy O’ Harris’ Black Exhibition, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, and Titanique Off-Broadway, for countless regional productions, and she’s been nominated for a Lucille Lortel award. One thing that makes her stand out in the crowd of theatre choreographers, which anyone can see just based on this list of credits alone, is her ability to cross styles and genres. No one “Ellenore Scott show” is going to look or feel at all the same.

    Ellenore can connect that to what she was describing above: her classical training as well as her passion and respect for other styles of dance (hence — the “lockarina”). She talks on the podcast about how her dad did a kind of “robotic movement with his hip hop.” And how — along with his brother (they were a dance duo) — he infused “comedy” into his performances. Similarly, she tells me about how she tries to see “everything” in New York, and truly take advantage of the fact that we live in the performing arts capital of the world. As I say on the podcast, I think it’s easy for some of us in the theatre or on Broadway to get really stuck in our little bubbles…to see the same kinds of shows over and over again, with the same people, choreographed or directed also by the same group. Ellenore tells me that she tries to go see hip hop, flamenco, belly dancing, even her first love modern/concert dance all the time in the city. Inevitably, that understanding of, and respect for, a myriad of different styles of movement, seeps into Ellenore’s artistry and allows her to choreograph shows as different as Funny Girl and Grey House, and to expand the tools available to her in her toolbox.

    I think another thing that makes Ellenore unique, that she can connect back to her early life experiences, is that she is truly a director’s choreographer. And I mean that in the sense that: when you see an “Ellenore Scott show,” there will be some amazing movement that makes you go “Wow! How can he or she do that?!” But it’s never about seeing how high a dancer can jump or battement, or what “tricks” they can do; it is always about the narrative and the story. “I’ve seen rooms led by folks who only care about how cool the dancing looks. And I always was like, ‘That doesn’t make sense [with] the story. I agree with the director. Like the director’s telling you that this doesn’t make sense in the story. And I agree with him.’”

    Conrad Ricamora, Christian Borle, and Tammy Blanchard in Ellenore Scott’s production of Little Shop of Horrors (directed by Michael Mayer). Photo by Emilio Madrid and courtesy of Newsweek.

    I think it’s part of what makes Ellenore so strong as a choreographer, such a great collaborator, and what’s going to make her transition into directing rather seamless. When I spoke with her a few Mondays ago, just before she was starting the rehearsal process for The Lonely Few, she was, in her own words, “scared shitless.” “I am so nervous,” she continued. “I’m feeling the way I felt when I first choreographed Little Shop [which was her first big, NY choreographic credit] of like, ‘How am I going to do this? How am I figuring out my style? What’s important to me? I feel like I’m redoing all of that with this kind of new title which is so interesting. So I’m literally refinding my confidence in my abilities and ‘I was hired for a reason.’ And that I need to just own that.” But as I tell her on the show: she has had some of the best training in the world. She already has a command of many different styles and genres — beyond theatre; she has always thought about and placed narrative and storytelling at the top of the priority list; she has always considered the audience, and the performer’s relationship to said audience; and, finally, something to which I’ve hinted in this article but haven’t yet spelled out explicitly, she is a dream collaborator and leader.

    Ellenore has a knack for running collaborative, fun, and considerate “rooms,” as we say in the business. Photo credit to Spencer Liff, and courtesy of The Dance Enthusiast.

    Indeed, Ellenore has taken her (bad) experience when she was first starting out in the concert dance world and transformed it into a style of leadership that is more considerate and generous. In other words, she’s running rooms in the way she wished they had been run when she was first starting out and auditioning. She also points out that “the four Broadway productions that I worked on as an assistant and an associate choreographer were all for white men who were both the choreographer and the director. So either it was a white male director and a white male choreographer or the white male director was also the choreographer,” Ellenore explains on the podcast. “And so it was very interesting to recognize, ‘Oh, I’ve only ever worked under this demographic. That is the only way that I’ve seen leadership in a room.’ So when I became a leader [myself],” she explains, “I was offered Little Shop as my first big show, I was like, ‘I have to make a name for myself and a reputation for myself and a style of my own. In the way I want to do it in the way where I’m like, ‘I don’t want to do this. I do want to do this. I do want to talk to people this way. This is how I want to prep. This is how I want to give notes.’” She notes that it was also “interesting…figuring that out in front of, like, Jonathan Groff and Christian Borle and…like these huge stars and Michael Mayer, right? Huge stars and influencers in the musical theater and Broadway world…being like, ‘Hi, this is my first time doing this and I haven’t seen a lot of people that look like me do it.’”

    I’d argue, however, that while the pressure of being “the first” or “one of the few” is immense — and we should be working toward a theatrical landscape where the norm is not “white male” director/choreographer — the experience helped Ellenore to think more deliberately about her leadership style. In fact, I’d argue that many more directors and choreographers (and producers) should be asking themselves the kinds of questions Ellenore asked of herself — How do *I*, given my unique experiences and background, want to be a leader? How would I want to collaborate if I were one of my dancers, actors, crew members, or another person on the creative team? (And I’d wager many of these status quo directors do not take a moment to think about this, because leading a room, and having people look to them for guidance and decision-making, is as assumed and natural as putting on their shoes).

    Julie Benko and the cast of Funny Girl on Broadway, which Ellenore choreographed. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade and courtesy of Time.

    Having worked with Ellenore very recently, I can personally attest to the fact that, likely because her experiences and background made her consider what leadership and what community mean, Ellenore is a kind, generous, funny, empathetic, creative, but strong, confident, and firm leader. I always say that making pretty stage pictures or “good dance moves” (that about sums up my choreographic knowledge) or wonderful transitions (a director’s soft spot) is only half the battle when you’re creating a show and on the creative team. The other half is, in my opinion, personality management and leadership. Ellenore has figured that out to a tee, and all on her own terms.

    Listen to our full episode here, where we also discuss process, Alvin Ailey, bad teachers and good teachers, Tik Tok, our favorite studio snacks, and so much more. Stay tuned for some more incredible Call Time guests in the coming weeks…we have a nice groove going after my hiatus, so thank you for bearing with me!

  • What’s An Intimacy Director To Do On A Musical About Ladyparts With Chompers?

    “(In Teeth,) a show in which violence begets vengeance, … it’s a lot to endure, for both biter and bitee. … Campy or not, choreographing the many scenes of intimacy and assault required extraordinary sensitivity.” Enter Crista Marie Jackson. – The New York Times

  • Choreography On Broadway Is No Longer Broadway-Style Choreography

    “Today’s shows are increasingly using movement makers from genres outside the musical theater world altogether, like experimental dance (David Neumann, Annie-B Parson, Raja Feather Kelly), commercial dance (Sonya Tayeh, JaQuel Knight, Keone and Mari Madrid), modern dance (Camille A. Brown), and physical theater (Steven Hoggett).” – Dance Magazine

  • How The “Star Trek” Franchise Keeps Going After 58 Years

    “Since the original series debuted in 1966, … the Star Trek galaxy has logged 900 television episodes and 13 feature films, amounting to 668 hours. … Every single person I spoke to for this story talked about Star Trek with a joyful earnestness as rare in the industry as a Klingon pacifist.” – Variety

  • Ex-Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Is Out Of Jail, Trying To Figure Out What’s Next

    In 2021 he pled guilty in an enormous art-fraud case and was sentenced to seven years in prison. This past January he was released into home confinement. He’s now searching for — if not redemption, a way to earn a living, as Hollywood fights over the rights to his story. – Vanity Fair

  • Strike At Mass MoCA Is Over As Union Ratifies Contract

    “The agreement, which (ended a three-week strike and) will be in effect for two years, will increase average pay for bargaining unit’s roughly 120 members by more than 12 percent by the second year.” – The Boston Globe (MSN)

  • Hoping To Move Beyond Thefts Scandal, British Museum Appoints New Director

    “The outgoing National Portrait Gallery director (Nicholas Cullinan) replaces former Victoria and Albert Museum head Sir Mark Jones, who was made interim director following the resignation of Hartwig Fischer over the thefts at the London-based institution.” – The Independent (UK)

  • Shortlist Revealed For First-Ever Women’s Prize For Nonfiction

    The finalists are Doppelganger by Naomi Klein, Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia, Thunderclap by Laura Cummings, All That She Carried by Tiya Miles, A Flat Place by Noreen Masud, and How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. – The Guardian

  • Mulling Salonen’s Resignation — Take Two

    In response to the resignation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, the San Franciso Symphony has now issued a statement denying disagreement over

  • US Museums Cut Staff, Blaming Falling Visitor Numbers

    As visitor numbers begin to stabilise, it remains unclear whether museums will reinstate those eliminated positions, an issue that has become more urgent as funds are increasingly allocated to other projects. – The Art Newspaper

  • Is It True That Quality TV Is Done For?

    “There’s definitely been a contraction after years of it feeling like TV was undergoing this crazy expansion.” – BBC

  • How The Head Of Juilliard’s Dance Program Is Shaking Things Up

    In 2018, she became the prestigious New York conservatory’s first woman of color to head the dance program — and the youngest person to do so. Graf Mack, 45, is shaking up what is taught and how to make art dance more relevant. – NPR

  • How Two Amsterdam Museums Managed Hyper-Demand For Blockbuster Shows

    “I thought we would sell out and would probably have about half a million visitors. In the end we had 650,000, but we could have easily sold two million tickets. That’s something I didn’t expect.” – The Art Newspaper

  • Inside San Francisco Symphony’s Budget Issues And What They Say About Priorities

    Given these “significant financial pressures,” where does the multimillion-dollar Davies renovation project stand, certain to pose challenges even if the cost of application and licensing is covered by donation? – San Francisco Classical Voice

  • How Steppenwolf Theatre Reimagined Its Educational Mission

    It seemed that the education department functioned as a sort of nonprofit running within another nonprofit, having separate conversations about programming. – American Theatre

  • Meet The Organist For The Boston Red Sox At Fenway Park

    “It’s (Josh) Kantor’s job to punch up the action when it’s going well on the field and soothe fans’ frayed nerves when it’s not. Through … social media, he interacts with fans in real time, taking requests. … He’s made himself an integral part of the Fenway experience.” – The Boston Globe (MSN)

  • For The Second Time Since 1987, Vinyl Records Outsold CDs Last Year

    People bought 43 million vinyl records last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That’s 6 million more than the number of CDs sold in 2023, marking the second time since 1987 that’s happened and reflecting the steady 17-year-running growth of vinyl sales. – The Verge